


Falling Hearts

by mihigh3725



Series: Soulmate AUs [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cats, Chinese Food, Dinner, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jun runs a cafe, Jun's scared, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Stand Alone, They meet, Trust Issues, Wonwoo is in university, aquarium dates, but they get together, fall in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23309494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mihigh3725/pseuds/mihigh3725
Summary: A soulmate AU where when you fall for your soulmate, a flower tattoo blooms on your skin.A standalone fic where Wonwoo falls for Junhui first and gets the tattoo but Jun doesn't. Wonwoo is a tired college student who begins frequenting the Cafe Jun runs. They slowly become friends and more when Jun learns to trust that Wonwoo will catch him if he falls.((Inspired by Fallin Flower))
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK
Series: Soulmate AUs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676287
Comments: 7
Kudos: 93





	1. The plunge

Wonwoo knew he was the one when he locked eyes with the pretty redhead barista. It was just like those cheesy tropes would say, all the background bustle faded, only the two of them mattered. 

It was like something from an old movie where the sailor sees the girl across the crowded dance floor and turns to his buddy and says, “See that girl? I’m gonna marry her someday.”

The white light of the cafe illuminated him like an angel, bouncing off his hair making it look like a halo. The barista’s bangs covered his eyes but you could still see his eyes. He had a couple of moles dotting his nose and cheeks and his juicy lips had a cupid’s bow. 

Damn, Wonwoo could not take his eyes off him.

“Sir? Your order please?” 

Wonwoo tries not to think about how he had messed up his first impression by being a staring weirdo. 

“Right, sorry. One caramel macchiato please.” The barista’s purple name tag read Jun.

Jun? Seemed Japanese…

Wonwoo had originally been planning on studying at the cafe. Instead, he picks a table where he has a view of Jun. The table is tucked away into the corner so Wonwoo feels less like a stalker. 

As Wonwoo sips his coffee, he notices how small flowers of pink and white bloom around his hands. The pattern starts from his pinkies and begins to grow even further, swirling around his forearms. The pattern changes from the tiny flowers, to lavenders to deep red roses as it goes from his hands up his arms. There’s some leaves and some thorns too. He hadn’t even introduced himself to his soulmate and their entire love story was already fleshed out.

The process was entrancing. It was not quick but it was not slow either. He could have watched his own arms for the two hours. It was magic. There was no real scientific explanation and saying it was magic made it more whimsical for everyone. Sometimes, the flowers could manifest and fall from your skin too--although the “tattoo” would remain.

He wonders if he should go up and introduce himself, “Hey, I just met you and this is crazy but here’s my number so call me maybe?” 

He shakes his head.

First impressions mattered but he had bungled his, so it was all about the recovery.

His drink is now cold and his attention diverts to his soulmate again. He had not been completely focused on Jun. The barista hands are wrapped in bandages.

It seemed serious. Should he even be working?

Every once in a while, Wonwoo diverts his attention to his work. He can’t move past the paragraphs he has already written. 

Instead, he stares at his coffee cup. Plain white with a simple blue cat drawn on it. 

Jun is completely focused on work, which is understandable as the rush hour had just arrived. Jun greets each customer with a tiny smile. He wonders what his smiles actually look like. Jun seems to have a friendly relationship with the other barista.

He has reached the bottom of his cup. There seems to be a cat hidden at the bottom. Perhaps he should get another drink?

There are a few moments where Jun’s eyes seem to widen at whatever the other barista is saying yet his customer service grin does not leave his face.

Wonwoo takes a quick glance at his watch. He needs to head back soon to finish up his work but will Jun be here tomorrow? What if Wonwoo’s time at the cafe never matched Jun’s shift and he never saw Jun again? 

Most of the time telling someone they were your soulmate worked out great. The universe doesn’t lie and people love to fall in love anyway.

It wouldn’t be so good to tell Jun that he was Wonwoo’s soulmate right now. Maybe after they knew each other a bit better and Wonwoo had charmed him?

Wonwoo orders a cake once the rush hour dies down. He asks for Jun’s recommendation of cakes. 

Jun recommends their cake of the day, which is albeit on the pricey side. It’s for Jun, Wonwoo tells himself.

He steels his nerves to ask, “Hey, Jun, will you be here tomorrow?”

“I am here just about everyday Wonwoo, drop by anytime.” Wonwoo doesn’t know if he is imagining it but he can see the faintest smile dancing on Jun’s lips. Jun remembers his name from his earlier order!

If there are petals mixed in with the money he hands Jun, Jun says nothing.

Today’s cake of the day is a Strawberry Shortcake. The cake is incredibly soft and spongy, the strawberries are slightly sour but the sweetness of the syrup balances it well. The redness of the strawberries reminds him of Jun’s hair. He wonders what pretty shade of red dusts Jun’s cheeks when he is embarrassed.

To prevent himself from seeming like a creep, Wonwoo begins to review his notes.The essay could wait. Between bites of cake and glancing at Jun, studying flies. 

There is a knock on his table. He looks up to see the other barista at his table. His name tag reads ‘Joshua’. He has big doe-like eyes and a single blue flower on his cheek. He removes an earpiece.

“Hi, I am sorry to disturb but we are closing soon. You may come back tomorrow.”

“Right, sorry. I’ll get going.” Wonwoo packs up and he realises that Jun isn’t anywhere to be seen. That’s alright, he will see Jun tomorrow.

The walk home is anything but dull. Wonwoo can’t stop thinking about Jun. Wonwoo has had crushes before but nothing felt as intense as this had. Nor had it been this instant. Did Jun feel the same? Jun had no visible flowers.

Perhaps, Jun fell for people slowly. 

When he gets back to his apartment, Mingyu is laying on the sofa on his phone.

“Lazy ass.”

“Hello to-” Mingyu looks up from his phone.

“HOLY SHIT, you fell for your soulmate today? Who was it!” Mingyu continues with his incessant questions and Wonwoo decides to wait for him to calm down. 

“You know that cafe you recommended? Well-”

“Carat Cafe? Yea, what about it!” Wonwoo swears Mingyu is more excited about it than Wonwoo himself is.

Wonwoo throws him a pointed glance.

“Right, sorry.”

“They had the prettiest barista. It was love at first sight. My flowers bloomed after I saw him. His name is Jun. He said he would be there everyday… I’m going back tomorrow,” Wonwoo can’t stop his smile. He fills Mingyu in on their very limited interactions.

“Jun! That’s crazy!”

Wonwoo raises an eyebrow. How did Mingyu know Jun?

“How have you two never met? He is in Hao’s dance troupe, you came for one of their gigs remember?”

He had enjoyed their performance but he hadn’t exactly paid attention to everyone on stage. Damn it, Wonwoo could have met his soulmate a lot earlier.

“Jun and Hao are best friends you know. He’s probably seen you around. Maybe that’s why he was so friendly, I actually thought he was the shy type. Ah… Did you know that Jun actually runs Carat Cafe?” 

Wonwoo sits on Mingyu’s legs. Stubborn ass never actually sat upright on the sofa anyway.  
“Ouch… Hyung! Your bones are digging into me,” Mingyu shifts his legs beneath Wonwoo, trying to get comfortable.

“What else do you know about him? Tell me!” Wonwoo snatches Mingyu’s phone trying to get him to pay more attention.

“I don’t know a lot about him. He’s just someone I see around. Besides, instead of being spoon-fed the information, wouldn’t it be nicer if you learned about them from Jun?”

Mingyu whines for his phone, Wonwoo gets some satisfaction from throwing it at him as he walks away. 

Wonwoo imagines it. One where they take everything slow and he learns of Jun’s quirks and peeves as though he is studying. He could memorise every single mole Jun has and more. That certainly seems fun. 

Wonwoo can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s a Saturday and the cafe opens at 9am.


	2. The heart wants what it wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some sexual content ahead be wary

His heart is beating fast.

His cheeks are warm.

His hands are cold.

He pushes the cafe door open. 

Jun is _not_ there. In fact, it's only Wonwoo and the not-Jun barista. 

The cafe is warm and Wonwoo finds himself blowing on his hands. He sets his bag down at a seat next to the counter. After all, he would have a great view later.

Wonwoo trudges over to the counter. Wonwoo had thought about this all night. He was going to confess to Jun and see where things go from there. It would have been better to be upfront rather than skirt around it. Except Jun wasn’t here. He had even planned his outfit. A black t-shirt with black jeans, simple but good looking. All that effort wasted.

This sucked.

“Good morning! Welcome to Carat Cafe. What would you like to get, Sir?” 

Today, the barista is a perky guy named Dokyeom, as it says on his tag. His teeth were shining like the sun. It was too early for this. 

“I’d like an espresso thanks.” 

Since Wonwoo was not distracted by Jun, he was able to take in the cafe. The walls are striped pink and blue. Like cotton candy. The tables are white and the chairs alternate between blue and pink. The cup and plate designs all have cat motifs on them. The barista’s counters and the menu that hang above them are a sleek black. 

It’s pretty cute. Definitely aesthetic and explained yesterday’s crowd.

Dokyeom walks over and sets down his cup of coffee. Wonwoo cups the coffee mug, his fingers were freezing.

It takes a moment or two before he realises that the barista has not walked away.

“I love your arms.” Dokyeom leans on the counter. Dokyeom must be bored, it seems no one comes in this early.

“I am so glad that even my skinny arms can attract someone.” He says in the most dramatic voice he can fashion.

“That’s not what I meant!” He says, eyes wide. He playfully swats Wonwoo on the arm. Wonwoo laughs.

“The tattoo is really pretty. You're also really pretty too! I haven’t got my tattoo yet though and I fall for everyone,” He blinks at Wonwoo. 

“... Was that supposed to be a wink?”

He blinks again.

“So Mr.Sunshine here can’t wink huh?”

“Hey, it’s not like you can wink, can you?” Wonwoo has a vague feeling this would lead to nothing good but he winks anyway.

Dokyeom dramatically fans himself, “I think I’m about to faint.”

“Do you flirt with every customer that comes in here or am I just that special?” He teases, putting his hand over his heart. He can’t help it. Dokyeom is surprisingly fun to talk to.

“I flirt with every customer shamelessly. It’s a genius plan. If any of them fall for me, I’d find my soulmate.” Dokyeom looks so serious, is he joking or...? “And my boss loves it too cos that keeps our customers coming back.” 

“Does he really?” Wonwoo raises an eyebrow. Jun seemed friendly but Wonwoo doubted he was as friendly as a boss.

“Nope, but I know he thinks it.” Hmm, Maybe Jun did. Dokyeom was handsome. He’d have to ask Jun about that.

The bell rings. Dokyeom sighs.

“I’ll be right back.” He greets the customer with his signature smile and chipper tone.

Wonwoo stares at his open document. It’s just a couple of minutes before Dokyeom is back. If there is nothing new typed on the document, it’s because essay writing is hard, Wonwoo tells him.

“So,” The barista drags out the ‘o’, “Tell me about your soulmate.”

“We kinda just met. It was love at first sight for me. He’s really breathtaking… So far, I only know his name. I plan to see him around and get to know him better.”

Dokyeom sighs again. “That sounds good. I can’t wait to meet my soulmate.” He stares at the entrance to the cafe.

“Good things come to those who wait. Once you meet your soulmate, nothing can go wrong. ” Wonwoo makes his smile as sweet as possible.

The barista seems to believe him. “You’re right... I’m just impatient.”

He swats Dokyeom on the arm. “Shouldn’t you get back to work?”

“Alright! If you don’t want me around, I won’t stay.” Dokyeom walks back to the counter.

The coffee is now cold and slightly bitter. Wonwoo adds another sugar packet and stirs.

Not all soulmates worked out. He shakes his head. Not the time for that.

He begins typing away on his laptop. He only has a couple of hours more, he told Mingyu he’d be home for dinner. 

During his time there, he orders two more drinks and some pasta for lunch. The food was pretty good. It’s almost time for him to leave. He closes his laptop.

Jun… Why wasn’t he here today? He said he’d be here.

Someone sets down a plate of cake on his table. He looks up. 

It’s Jun!

“This is today’s cake of the day, a Chicago Cheesecake. You mind if I join you?”

Wonwoo shakes his head. Jun sits next to him. Jun smells like vanilla?

He feels Jun’s expectant gaze on him so he takes a bite.

“It’s really good. Did you make this?” Wonwoo doesn’t really have a sweet tooth but this cake is just right.

“That’s great to hear, I’m just adjusting the recipe.” 

“I like it! You have my approval.”

Jun smiles a sheepish grin. 

Wonwoo continues to eat the cake. Jun is silent. This is awkward. 

He has to say something.

“I heard you are part of Minghao’s dance troupe?”

“Yea! I’ve seen you around at some of our gigs I think. You friends with Hao?”

“No, I’m actually friends with Mingyu. He’s my roommate.”

“Ah…” Jun nods, “What were you working on just now?”

“I’m an art history major so it’s just an essay on color theory. Which reminds me, I love the colors in the cafe, everything is so soft and comfortable looking.”

“Yea, I love these colors. I chose them specifically to match my dishware. Aren’t they so cute?”

Jun’s eyes turn into crescent moons as he smiles. Kind of like those anime eyes. The cat mugs were cute.

“If it’s a cat themed cafe, why is it called Carat? Why not Whiskers’ ? Or have it jewel themed?” Jun’s eyes narrow and he takes a deep breath before he begins talking.

“That’s because I named it after my first cat, Carat. His eyes remind me of diamonds, y'know? And it also makes the place sound unique and classy…” Jun continues to ramble. He _loves_ his cat, or was it cats?

Jun’s eyes sparkle like stars. The cafe should have been named after Jun’s eyes. His expressions were full of life, they reminded Wonwoo of children - Of their unbridled emotions and passions. His hands were moving animatedly and his laughter wasn’t the prettiest but it was genuine and that made it beautiful.

“Wonwoo?” Jun is waving his hands in front of Wonwoo’s face. He’s wearing gloves instead of bandages.

“Sorry, I was distracted.” Wonwoo scrambles to find reasons.

“Ah, I must be bothering you. Sorry…” Jun pouts and his lips just look so soft and kissable and Wonwoo’s offtrack again.

“No, that’s not it. You’re really attractive. You’re my soulmate and I would love to get to know you better,” Wonwoo holds his breath as he waits for Jun’s reaction.

Jun’s expression changes and he can’t tell what Jun is thinking anymore.

“I know I’m your soulmate, I saw the flowers bloom. I find this to be too fast, can we try to be friends instead?” 

Wonwoo blinks, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

“Ok,” Wonwoo rubs the back of his neck, “I guess I came off too strong. We’ll take things slow since you want to.” 

“It’s great that you agree, maybe we should hang out sometimes. We could get to know each other better?” Jun smiles a blinding smile and Wonwoo flashes one back.

“I think I’d love that.” After that, Jun has to get back to work and Wonwoo regrets everything. At least he has Jun’s number now. Sitting in the cafe, Wonwoo rationalises between bites of the cake. Friends now, didn’t mean they’d be friends forever.

Dinner is simple Jajangmyeon with pork and eggs. He washes it down with some cola, giving Mingyu the ‘latest WonJun updates’ as he called it. Gyu frowns when he hears that Jun just wants to be friends but he doesn’t say much. Mingyu had a pretty normal day, just watching Netflix and eating. Shouldn’t a university student be studying more?

Wonwoo is in the shower when he hears his phone buzz. Was it Jun?

Soonyoung 10:52 PM  
 _Come over?_

Wonwoo peeks into Mingyu’s room. Looks like the giant was asleep. He tiptoed out the house locking the door behind him.

He knocks on Soonyoung’s door.

Soonyoung opens the door. He doesn’t even close the door before he uses one hand to unbuckle Wonwoo’s belt already. He runs his fingers down Wonwoo’s arm with his other hand.

“Soonyoung…” Wonwoo trails off as Soonyoung begins to leave a trail of sloppy wet kisses. 

“This is our last, I promise.” Wonwoo can almost taste the alcohol in his breath. It’s not the first time either of them has said that. Screw this. Wonwoo thinks as he gets hard.

He pins Soonyoung to the wall, hands above head.

“Wait on the bed.” Wonwoo takes the opportunity to lock the front door behind them. Soonyoung’s naked by the time he gets back.

Wonwoo imagines that it’s Jun’s body that he feels below him. Ideally, Soonyoung’s shoulders would be wider, skin tanner, hair longer but he tries not to focus on that. He can’t see much of Soonyoung anyway. He closes his eyes.

It’s been their agreement, always with the lights off, no sound from either of them. Soonyoung’s idea so he could imagine Wonwoo was someone else. Wonwoo hadn’t known that at first. Just assumed it was some weird kink. Soonyoung needed somebody and Wonwoo’s was right there for him.

_They were both horny and way too desperate the first time they fucked to care about clothes. Soonyoung hadn’t taken his shirt off and Wonwoo hadn’t cared. Soonyoung had moaned that first time though._

_A “Seok-” before he went back to biting his hand._

_Wonwoo saw his soulmate tattoo, when he had unbuttoned Soonyoung’s shirt the next time_

_“You have a soulmate?” Wonwoo had asked, he remembers feeling white hot when he had thought that he was homewrecking._

_“No, they’re not in the picture. Don’t worry about it.”_

_It had been another night with Soonyoung. One where Soonyoung had **cried** during sex. Wonwoo had stopped immediately, he hadn’t wanted to hurt Soonyoung._

_“It’s not you. I’m just thinking of my soulmate.”_

_Wonwoo hadn’t held back after he said that._

He hears the shower turn off. Soonyoung always showered immediately after. Maybe it was because part of him always felt dirty? Soonyoung steps out.

“Dry your hair!” Wonwoo calls out, “You’ll catch a cold.”

“Okay daddy.” He can practically hear Soonyoung’s grin.

He watches him, illuminated in the light from the bathroom. Kwon Soonyoung is art. He has a red rose on his skin where his heart should be. It’s nestled in a wreath of other flowers and leaves. His entire torso was covered in bright vivid flowers. From his torso snaked out tendrils wrapping around his thighs and shoulders,they became thinner the more they extended until it looked like it was just a string wrapped around each pinky and big toe. 

Soonyoung’s tattoo was always changing and it was huge. If you asked Wonwoo, he’d tell you they change with the seasons. Soonyoung would say they change with how much he drinks each season. They’re both right. Winter is when Soonyoung thinks of his soulmate the most and thus drinks the most, so he was covered in flowers right now. By spring, only some of the flowers would remain and most of it would be leaves. Sometimes you would see fruit. In autumn, it would be just leaves of varying hues of oranges and red. But the red rose on his heart never withered. 

What was it like to love someone with every inch of you? What was it like to constantly love someone?

Looking at Soonyoung, Wonwoo thinks the answer must be **painful.**

He feels the wetness of damp hair on his shoulder. Soonyoung enjoyed cuddling.

“You met your soulmate?”

Wonwoo hums. He wraps his arms around Soonyoung.

“What are they like?” Soonyoung asks, face leaning towards Wonwoo’s. He gently removes Wonwoo’s glasses and places them on the nightstand.

“You know him, Jun, from your dance troupe?”

“You'd be good for each other,” He says. “Maybe, you’d have met sooner if I hadn’t stolen you away at that party.”

“Was Jun there?” 

“Yea.” Soonyoung frowns.

Wonwoo thinks about it for a minute. Meeting Jun at a party under garish lights, with clothes that are just a bit too tight and music that is too loud. It wouldn’t have been the same. Maybe he would have skipped over Jun.

“I have a feeling Jun and I could have met way earlier if the universe wanted us to. We were probably at so many events but didn’t meet. It would have been too soon plus, I got to know you.”

Soonyoung giggles. “Aww, you’d miss me.”

“Who says I’d miss you at all.” Wonwoo pulls Soonyoung cheeks. He looks like a hamster. 

“Hey, that hurts.” Soonyoung rubs his cheeks.

“Jun wants to take things slow. Just be friends for a while”

“Sounds like Jun,” He taps his forehead, “He’s always been hesitant… What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know, wait? But hey, we could keep this going a while longer.”

“Keep it in your pants, you horndog. I’m not sleeping with my friend’s soulmate, I doubt you guys would remain just friends for too long anyway,” He pauses, rubbing his eyes

Wonwoo yawns. “Y’know we totally failed at the ‘No Strings Attached’ thing.”

Soonyoung laughs. “We weren’t totally bad. We didn’t fall for each other. No one knows we are fuckbuddies. Hell, no one even knows we’re friends.”

“We should be public friends. No point in our relationship ending just because we can’t fuck.” Wonwoo muses.

“I don’t know… What would we talk about? We’ve actually got nothing in common. Art History major and a dance major,” Wonwoo boops Soonyoung’s nose.

Wonwoo begins singing. “We got more in common than you think.”

“Is that Eric Nam?” Wonwoo shushes Soonyoung, his finger resting on Soonyoung’s lips.

“You're sexy, I'm sexy.  
You want me, I want you too.” Wonwoo finishes.

“Fine, you win. We’ll be public friends. I’ll add you on Facebook and everything.” 

“Literally no one uses Facebook.”

“Ugh. Shut up. I want to sleep.” 

“Fine.” Wonwoo stretches, pulling his arm out from under Soonyoung. Why does Wonwoo get the feeling his arm is going to be numb in the morning anyway?

“Night, Wonwoo.” 

Wonwoo tries to sleep. He can’t. He hears Soonyoung sneeze.

“Soonyoung?”

“Mhm?” He doesn’t open his eyes.

“Will you tell me about your soulmate?”

“His name is Seokmin.”

Wonwoo stays awake, yet nothing but their own breathing fill the silence. 

Maybe one day, Soonyoung wouldn't need _this_ to feel okay.


	3. Pining

Wonwoo wakes up to the buzz of his phone. Soonyoung’s still snoring. 

Jun 7:29am  
 _Morning!_

Wonwoo puts his phone back down and rolls over. It’s too early. Why was his soulmate a morning bird?

He can’t sleep. It’s going to nag at him if he doesn’t reply. He types out a quick message wishing Jun all the best for the day ahead. He wonders what Jun will say if he replies. Maybe Wonwoo should have had some other conversation starters? Argh. No. It was a simple message, there’s no way he went wrong.

Wonwoo closes his eyes. Sleep has to be within reach. What if Jun never texts him again?  
No, he’s too wide awake for this. But it’s still too early.

And like everyone who struggles to get out of bed in the mornings, Wonwoo ends up on his phone. He scrolls through a post on the most common soulmate flowers and what they mean. 

The tiny pink and white flowers on his hands are Baby’s Breath. They meant everlasting love and purity. So Wonwoo ends up being whipped for Jun? Unsurprising. Oh, different colours had different meanings?

White Baby’s Breath meant unity and spirituality and pink ones symbolised gentleness and emotions. Lavender flowers are known to represent purity, silence, devotion, serenity, grace and calmness. That was a lot… and the purple represents royalty, elegance, refinement and luxury. And.. the leaves represented hope, renewal, and revival. Everyone knew what red roses represented.

Wonwoo can’t help but wonder if there was really that much and so many varied meanings to his soulmate tattoo. Seemed highly impractical, of course it had to mean something but so many things?

At least, he now could name some of the flowers Soonyoung had. Hydrangeas and Camellias. Blue hydrangeas symbolize frigidity and apology. Pink camellias symbolize a longing for someone and is given to someone who is missed. Apology and longing was fitting.

Soonyoung… Will he be okay?

After recovering from waking up, Wonwoo packs up and heads back home. With any luck, Mingyu would be asleep. 

Mingyu is not asleep. 

“Oh, I just went for a run.”

“It’s wayyy too cold for that.” He shakes his head. “Keep your secrets. Want some coffee?”

Wonwoo grabs a mug and warms his hands. He makes sure to add some sugar. How Gyu drank his bitter coffee, Wonwoo would never know.

“Should I go to the cafe today? I mean, it’s clear that Jun wants space… but I did get his phone number.” 

Mingyu’s looking at his phone. Wonwoo throws the spoon he was stirring with, at him.

“Yah! Listen!” 

“Okay, first of all, gross.” He says, throwing the spoon back. “Second, do you really have time to go to the cafe? What about your assignments?”

“I can do work there,” Wonwoo exclaims.

“I bet you just stare at him you weirdo, you’re gonna go anyway. Why did you even ask me?!”

Wonwoo groans. He did have a lot of assignments left. What if he finished them up and went to the cafe later? He could text Jun throughout the day rather than wait for him to be available at the cafe.

Sounded like a plan. Mingyu, that lucky bastard, had spent yesterday finishing up his assignments so he was going out with Minghao.

Wonwoo keeps tapping his foot. When his phone vibrates, he almost jumps but it's just Soonyoung mentioning that they should visit the cafe together sometime. Useless Soonyoung.

It had been like hours, why hadn’t Jun replied? 

Wonwoo’s having instant noodles for lunch when he receives a reply.

It’s a picture of his cat who indeed has sparkly blue eyes.

Cute.

They have a wee bit of small talk before Wonwoo takes the initiative to ask him out on a hang out. 

He calms his racing heart, it’s just a hang out. 

There’s not anywhere in particular that Wonwoo has in mind but Jun seems very excited about going to the aquarium, if the emojis were anything to go by. The aquarium it is. They make plans to meet there the following weekend.

Wonwoo also asks if he could drop by the cafe sometime, to which Jun suggests dropping by later in the evening when he would be free.

Looks like things were slowly working out.

Wonwoo, for all his eagerness, runs a bit late. 

They’d planned to meet at the aquarium itself and Wonwoo breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Jun standing near the ticketing counter.

He still hasn’t noticed Wonwoo and is fiddling with his hands. Wonwoo waves and runs up to him. Jun looks up and Wonwoo bows his head, muttering apologies.

Jun asks him to drop the formalities, they’re friends anyway. He hadn’t been that late and that had given Jun sometime to buy the tickets.

Jun all but runs to enter. When they enter they’re greeted with eccentric fish tanks. They were shower cubicles, computer monitors and a bathtub. Certainly, interesting. What was more eye catching was the way Jun’s nose was pressed up against the tanks and he’d point out all the colorful fish. He didn’t stop taking pictures either.

They were pretty but something even prettier was in front of him. Jun is just your friend, he reminds himself.

There’s a section dedicated to photo taking where Wonwoo gets the opportunity of taking a photo of Jun’s head as it pokes out into a tank. He whines that the photo is too unflattering but it's adorable really.

As they walk along, there's a huge tank and the fish in it are huge. Majestic. That’s the word. It’s amazing that they’re all so big and so cool and god, this is impressive. Wonwoo really wishes he has better words to describe this, but he doesn’t. He gets why Jun had been so eager now.

The next section is a touch tank where you can touch some of the creatures like starfish and stingrays. He hesitates, he can’t imagine what touching them will be like, what if he hurts them. Nearby, a staff member tells him that it's okay to touch the arms of the starfish.

“It’s alright, y’know?” Jun’s breath is hot on his face and Wonwoo almost swears. Where had he come from? Wonwoo tenses up. He’s so close. Jun doesn’t move away, instead guiding Wonwoo’s hand to touch the starfish. He runs his finger gently along it’s arm. It’s leathery. Not really what he expected. 

Just then, a fish swims by and he immediately takes his arm out, splashing water onto the both of them. Jun laughs casually, touching the fish as it swims away. The staff member helpfully supplies that the fish are safe to touch. Wonwoo doesn’t touch them no matter how Jun may try.

The next section is titled Penguin Playground and features well, penguins. Jun coos and waves and waddles as though he can communicate with the penguins. They almost melt seeing two penguins holding hands and sleeping. Wonwoo wants to hold hands with his penguin someday.

If you asked Wonwoo, the aquarium wasn't worth the money but Jun’s happy and currently looking at the different soft toys and maybe Wonwoo will buy him one. He picks out the penguin he saw Jun looking at and pays for it.

Jun has a poker face when Wonwoo hands him the bag and he wonders if he overstepped. Jun offers to pay him for it, Wonwoo didn’t have to but Wonwoo insists he wanted to and that conversation ends there.

They listen to music on the bus ride home. At least, they’re sitting next to each other.

Wonwoo offers to walk Jun home but he declines. 

“Let’s do this again sometimes.”

Wonwoo smiles like an idiot because that’s still a win.

Texting Jun before he sleeps becomes a habit. With finals, Wonwoo is too busy to meet Jun. Their late night conversations revolve around the most mundane of things at times. Their favourite fruits, their favourite music, their hobbies.

It’s like clockwork, Wonwoo finds. Study, eat, shower, get in bed, text Jun. Somedays, he gets selfies, somedays one of them falls asleep while texting. He doesn’t realise how whipped he was until Mingyu points out his grins and how he’s forcing himself to stay awake and how he’s watching the shows Jun loves, even if they aren’t his type and how it's in the middle of finals.

Maybe that was the thing with soulmates, you fell before you realised. He loves someone who won’t love him the same way. He thinks he gets Soonyoung’s pain now but being with Jun as his friend is better than not being with Jun, so he’ll ignore the feelings that continue to blossom in his chest.


	4. Lover Of Mine

The drizzle begins suddenly. They were still a few blocks from the cafe and Wonwoo wasn’t wearing his coat. He sees Kwon Soonyoung’s cheeky grin. He groans, this is not good.

“Let’s race!” Soonyoung takes off before he can say anything.

“YA! I hope you fall!” Wonwoo yells running after him.

When they burst through the cafe doors, they’re both panting and sopping wet. Drenched in cold rain and outside, the rain stops.

“We could have just waited,” Wonwoo says between breaths.

“You didn’t have to chase me,” Soonyoung sticks out his tongue and walks over to the counter, trekking water everywhere. Soonyoung would be the death of Wonwoo some day. Wonwoo shakes his head and thinks about offering to mop up the puddles later.

The cafe is crowded, an evening rush. Soonyoung queues up while Wonwoo wipes his face with tissues. God, was he freezing.

As the barista turns around, Soonyoung gasps. 

Soonyoung is looking at Dokyeom as though he'd finally seen the sun. Wonwoo imagines that's the look he had when he had seen Jun for the very first time. Mouth agape, eyes bulging like a fish. His eyes were glistening. Was he tearing up?

“Seokmin?” 

Oh. _Oh._ No wonder.

“Soonyoung?” Dokyeom or Seokmin locks eyes with Soonyoung.

It’s instantaneous. Wonwoo sees the deep red flowers bloom, peeking out from Soonyoung’s black turtleneck. He sees the vines extend out from Dokyeom’s sleeve, circling around his arms. It’s like a race, magenta lilacs grow along the green lines, both finishing in a neat little bow around his wrist. Cute.

“Soonyoung, Dokyeom, use my office. It’ll be private. Joshua, take care of the cafe please.”

Jun? When had he arrived?

Soonyoung follows Dokyeom out and Jun pulls Wonwoo by the hand to the breakroom. It’s cozy, a table with a few chairs and a cabinet. There’s a shelf stocked with cup noodles and snacks and a mini fridge.

“I usually keep some spare clothes, hmm, gimme a sec.” Jun rifles around a cabinet.

“Yea…” Wonwoo has so many questions, he’d always assumed Soonyoung’s soulmate was dead, missing or comatose. 

Jun hums. “You seem shocked… They’ll be fine, you know them.” Wonwoo nods, using the towel Jun hands him to dry off as much as he can. His face hurts from the cold.He also hands him a sleeveless red flannel, saying it's all he could find. Jun sniffs it, apparently it’s clean enough. Anything to get Wonwoo out of the wet clothes, really. What was he thinking? He could have caught hypothermia in this weather. Jun lectures as he dries Wonwoo’s hair.

“I’d better get back out there. I wouldn’t want poor Joshua to be overwhelmed.” He has such a serious look on his face, Jun was always worrying about everyone. He’s out the door before Wonwoo can say something.

“I’ll mop up the water. Where do you keep 'em?” 

“Aish, you don’t have to…” Jun says heading towards what he assumes is the bathroom. There’s a mop in the corner. He doesn’t hand it to Wonwoo.

“But I want to. Doesn’t Joshua need help?”

Jun’s brows furrow together and he sighs before handing it to Wonwoo.

“Thank you.”

“That’s what friends are for, aren’t they?”

He mops up the water and Jun lets him hang at his office. Wonwoo doesn’t sit down and instead looks at the walls. There’s a noticeboard with shift duty, which also seemed like a conversation board. Post-its like ‘Happy Birthday Vernon’ or ‘Please treat me Samgyeopsal hyunggg’. There’s also pictures, there’s one of Jun with the widest grin and cake. ‘My first cake!’ written sloppily.

The cafe really was his life, huh?

He hears a door open. Stepping out of the breakroom, he sees Seokmin and Soonyoung finally step out, their cheeks dusted red and their hair tousled. 

Seokmin quickly heads out, taking over Jun’s spot as the cashier, although Jun had suggested letting him go early.

Once Jun is not behind the counter anymore, he can see a visible weight lift off his shoulders. He joins both Soonyoung and Wonwoo in their conversation but it devolves to dance talk that Wonwoo can’t really keep up with. He’d love to see them dance sometime.

To which Soonyoung suggests a _private_ show with a wink and Wonwoo feels like throttling him. Jun laughs and looks away but it’s not a no. 

It’s a couple weeks later when they are both in the dance studio. His pouts and puppy eyes had finally paid off. 

Beautiful. 

He hadn’t known people could move like that. He wipes some stray tears. Wonwoo had already been planning on showering Jun with praise to fall into his good graces but he’s truly moved.

It was so intimate. The song was about a lover reaching out, despite their fears, despite not knowing if they would be heard. Echo, he called it. A choreography he had made for some musical.

Jun frets and cracks a joke, “I didn’t know I was that terrible.”

“No, you were amazing.” He remembers that one performance he had been roped into watching, it had been powerful moves and sensuality and pop music. He hadn’t expected a rock song with simple and precise movements. The contrast between the music and the dance really emphasised the lyrics. It was like he was telling the story through his body. Fuck.

Jun’s on his knees to be eye level with Wonwoo and he hugs him. It’s the first act of touch Jun has initiated and Wonwoo wraps his arms around Jun. 

“I’m glad.” They’re both sitting on the ground, next to each other now.

“You should show Soonyoung and Minghao.” Wonwoo realises the mistake as soon as he sees Jun’s smile fade and he continues, “Unless, they’ve already seen it.”

“No, you’re the first.” He still looks pretty like this. Sweat clinging to the strands of his hair, head tilted, shoulders heaving, leaning against the wall of the room in just sweatpants and a tank top. 

“I’m honoured.” He must only have one brain cell as after that amazing performance, Wonwoo gets up, bows and asks, “May I have this dance, my fair prince?”

“Yes, you may.” Jun’s eyes are sparkling. He takes Wonwoo’s hand and gets up. He fiddles with his phone for a bit and a song comes on. Wonwoo doesn’t recognise the tune. It’s a ballad. 

Jun takes him by the hand and laughs when Wonwoo warns him that he’s a bad dancer. Jun places his arm on Wonwoo’s hip after guiding him to place his own hand on Jun’s shoulder.

The lyrics are in a foreign tongue but Wonwoo knows enough to recognise that it is Chinese. Maybe, he’d learn Chinese for Jun one day.

Jun leads the dance, slowly moving from side to side and where does one look while slow dancing? He takes it upon himself to memorise every mole that dot his partner’s features.  
Meanwhile, Jun is singing along. It takes Wonwoo a while to realise that they’re not dancing, they’re just swaying together. 

“We’re just swaying.” 

“We are,” He gazes at Wonwoo. “Nice, isn’t it?”

Wonwoo wishes the song had lasted longer. When they step away from each other, Jun begins chattering about what the song meant. Something about sitting next to each other. Wonwoo does his best to listen to what Jun says always but Jun’s always talking too fast and by the time Wonwoo asks him to repeat it, he’d say that he’s already forgotten what he was talking about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to Lover Of Mine by 5SOS while writing this~ Oh to dance a ballad with a partner~~  
> The songs played are Echo, Jun's solo song in Ideal Cut, that sounds like an anime op, and Can You Sit By My Side which Jun covered!
> 
> Happy birthday to Jun!!! He's my sunshine~


	5. A Day in the Life of Jun

Jun wakes up every morning at exactly 6am. Today, he contemplates going back to sleep. He can’t. He usually completes his daily missions. Not today. He just logs in to get his daily reward. He rolls out of bed. The floor is cold and nice. He feels sleep calling for him. 

His cats lick his hands. It's ticklish and wet. Jun can’t help the grin. 

“Alright, alright I’m up.” He gives both his babies a morning head rub before hitting the shower.

He has multiple phone alarms that continue to go off as he goes about his routine. The alarms allow him to keep track of time. He feeds his cats at exactly 7am. If he doesn’t, those little monsters would be screaming their heads off. After which, he heats up the meal he prepared the night before. He’s always been a fast eater and tends to finish getting ready much earlier than 7:45am. Today, he decides to lay in bed until he has to leave. 

He’s so tired and he doesn’t even know why. He still enjoys his walk to the cafe. Sometimes, the alley cats would say hello. Other times, he finds some dandelions to blow on. Today, it’s neither and Jun could have used a tiny moment of happiness. 

Jun’s work at the cafe is pretty standard. He bakes a few cakes and some batches of cookies for their menu today. Their menu was pretty much coffee and tea drinks, cake and one or two pastas. The baristas could make all but the cakes. Typically, Hansol handled the baking at the cafe but he was out sick.

Seokmin drops in at about 8:30am. He cleaned and mopped the place up and began putting the cakes on display. To be honest, Jun had no idea what he would do without Seokmin. His smile was the best thing.

Jun stays till 10am, when the last of the cakes is done. Recently, Jun has been looking for cake and pastry suppliers. He would love to expand into a fully pastry cafe. 

He talks to 2 prospective bakeries by the time it's 1pm and he heads back home for lunch. He would love to have lunch with his children and the food he ordered should be arriving any minute. He then has until about 2 till he has to bake more cakes. During their afternoon baking sessions, Jun and Hansol usually experiment and they have enough experience that all their cakes test good and are sellable. It’s been difficult trying to establish a signature cake for their menu. Although they have a few usuals, no cake really represents the cafe? He’s losing focus again.

Junhui is so, so exhausted when he is done today. He might have even teared up a bit along the way. 

He has about an hour of free time before Wonwoo arrives. He tells their barista on duty to let Wonwoo know to head to the ‘break room’ when he arrives.

‘Break room.’ It’s a bit sad really. There's a tiny table with a few chairs strewn around and some shelves where employees keep their things. Jun rests his head on the table, it’s just for a while.

He thinks he hears some noise. Must just be a barista, and sleep beckons him once more. When Jun finally blinks open his weary eyes, he thinks he sees the bleary image of someone.

Not someone, Wonwoo. Wonwoo? _Wonwoo._

Wonwoo grins as Jun mutters apologies. He says something about how Jun had looked pretty tired and it hadn’t been too long anyway. He pets Jun’s hair down and mentions that Jun was always pretty. Hmph. 

Jun grabs his bag that was hanging on the chair and waves to Joshua as they leave. This time, Wonwoo leads the way to a place that is especially close to campus.

He can’t believe it's dark already. White snow slowly drifts to the ground, only illuminated by the street lights. Wonwoo’s breath curls and he keeps rubbing his hands together. His gloves matched the ugly shade of blue his beanie was. Wonwoo responds that they looked better than Jun’s earmuffs. Jun sticks his tongue out and somehow, a snowflake lands on his tongue at that exact moment.

Did Wonwoo always scrunch his nose when he laughed? 

The place Wonwoo brings Jun to is small and tucked into a corner. It has neon red lights and red lanterns that glow in the dark of the night. Jun recognises the bold, black letters on the lantern and the smells that waft from within. The spices and herbs remind him of home and his stomach grumbles too loudly. They laugh as they step inside the restaurant. Wooden tables and simple black chairs are scattered about and the place only has some patrons. Jun ignores the mixed feelings of happiness and longing and grins at Wonwoo.

Jun looks at the menu and he can’t possibly choose. He has missed China very much and each dish is a memory begging to be relived. He goes with his favourite and Wonwoo orders the same. It smells so much like his mother’s kitchen, he only wonders if the food will live up to his expectations. It does. 

For a moment, he thinks about his brother back home with their dad while his mom had been all too happy to uproot their entire life and come to Seoul after the divorce. They had been soulmates, yet she found another soulmate here and Jun was left alone. He misses his brother.

He sucks in air, “It’s not spicy,” he breathes out. Looking at Wonwoo, Jun would say he was having the same problem. He’s been downing glass after glass of water. He’s glad that both of them love spicy food. It’s not something Jun has in common with other friends.

They mostly eat in silence with the occasional small talk. Any other day and this scene would not be painted with melancholy, it would have been painted with words spoken too fast and tipsy laughter. When Wonwoo looks at him expectantly and asks him about his day, the light he sees in Wonwoo’s eyes seems to shine just right and for a moment, Jun considers telling him the truth. It’d be nice to have it off his shoulders but there’s no reason why he feels that way. It can’t be fixed. And Jun remembers that to the world, he’s a bubbly person who can look after himself.

He needs to keep smiling.

Jun lies through his teeth that it was like every other day he has, and Wonwoo doesn’t prod any further. Instead, he takes the reigns of the conversation and rambles on. It’s not something he’d seen from Wonwoo before. It’s only a while before Wonwoo starts making puns and was it so bad that Jun found them to be hilarious? 

Wonwoo offers to walk Jun back to his apartment although Wonwoo’s apartment was probably closer. They walk with their hands in their coats. 

Along the way, Jun hears meows. Looks like the alley cat wanted to say hello. Rubbing up against Jun, Jun bends down to pet Tommy's head. Jun had named him after Tom in Tom and Jerry, he looked too much like Tom. The cat paws at his coat and Jun remembers that he has cat treats in one of his pockets. The tabby continues to lick Jun’s hand even after he finishes the treat. Jun is sorry to say goodbye but the cat all but runs away when Wonwoo attempts to pet it.

He can’t compare to the cat whisperer after all. Jun pats down his jeans and coat and sprays the perfume he has just for these occasions. His cats get jealous if they smell other cats and Jun would pay for it by cleaning up the gifts of dead mice at his bedroom door. He must seem like a cat obsessed freak to Wonwoo.

Wonwoo leaves Jun beneath his apartment block with a hug. Jun watches Wonwoo’s retreating back and wonders why he feels worse than ever before.

He unlocks the door to his apartment to see his kitties running up to him. He kisses them. He missed them too. 

If you asked Jun if he was lonely, the answer would be ‘No.’ That didn’t mean there weren’t times where he felt lonely. He certainly enjoyed being alone but he didn’t like being lonely. He did feel lonely at times and those were days he’d make sure to curl up with Huihui and Wings, and play with them more. They never seemed to scratch him on those days. These days, he’d been feeling lonely more often.

Jun had a few good friends. And although, he felt the occasional stabs of jealousy on seeing them with a significant other, he was happy. Life was alright and he was alright too. 

Jun had never dated, not for a lack of trying. Those he was interested in were never interested in him the way he wanted them too. When everyone around him was falling in love, he figured it had to have been something about himself. He had tried to change his appearance but that didn’t work. Maybe it was his overenthusiastic personality? Maybe he talked too much? 

He shakes his head. 

He remembers being terrified when he had seen Wonwoo’s flowers sprout in front of him. The tiny petals that were mixed with the change Wonwoo had handed him, gave him a bitter aftertaste.

Soulmates were still people and Jun knew people. People were assholes that left without another word when they got tired. They couldn’t be trusted and would hurt him too easily.

So why, oh why, did he want Wonwoo around more? With Wonwoo, he didn’t feel that way. It was all too easy to trust him and that was even more terrifying. It was too easy, and just too scary to trust someone like that.

The feeling of loneliness doesn’t fade as Jun stares at his ceiling and just for a moment, Jun considers texting him. Instead of reaching for his phone, Jun lets his hand rest on Huihui who has nuzzled into his side.

He wakes up to a text from Wonwoo.

It’s a picture of Jun petting the alley cat, the street lamp casting a sort of ethereal glow around the both of them. He looked _good._

It must be raining, Jun thinks, why else would there be water droplets on his phone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing Jun's perspective! He is a hardworking, likely overworked person with trust issues because life hasn't been very kind to him. Let's look forward to this comeback!!


	6. Happy Ending

Wonwoo finds that he’s certainly been seeing Soonyoung a lot more than he would like to. Turns out both of them love to hang out at the cafe, watching their soulmates. He’d like to talk to Jun, not Soonyoung. And watching Soonyoung and Seokmin together is so sweet, he could barf. Nothing against the couple really, it was just too much, sometimes. 

And Soonyoung must have clearly planned something, going by the glint in his eyes as the couple approaches Wonwoo and Jun.

A double date. He wants a double date. As if Wonwoo wasn’t already seeing Soonyoung too much. Now, the bastard was taking away his alone time with Jun. He doesn’t really want to but Soonyoung’s a stubborn ass and Seokmin is an angel and he knows that Jun wouldn’t say no, considering that he _is_ close to all of them.

Wonwoo smiles and looks at Jun, who’s rubbing his wrists again. They don’t want to intrude but Soonyoung’s eyes shine bright and Seokmin smiles and Wonwoo nods when Jun gives in.

Seokmin mentions he knows a place, barbeque is always good. Wonwoo grills the meat, hitting Soonyoung’s chopsticks away. This was a good cut anyway. He should get his own. He wraps the meat in the lettuce and puts it in Jun’s bowl. Jun fills both their glasses up and they dig in.

Dinner is anything but silent, by god, do both Soonyoung and Seokmin love to talk.

The both of them had met on an exchange program in Australia, before Seokmin moved back. At that time, Soonyoung had fallen headfirst for him, yet Seokmin hadn’t felt a thing and had rejected him. They hadn’t talked since.

Wonwoo’s only known Jun for a couple of weeks and being separated from him sounds too painful. He’s surprised that ‘SoonSeok’ hadn’t gotten together then with the way they get along like a house on fire. They haven’t seen each other in forever yet they finish each other sentences and speak in unison. A tad creepy if Wonwoo was being honest. He pours himself a drink. Some pairs just fit like puzzle pieces.

Seokmin talks about how his parents who were soulmates had just gotten divorced at the time, making him question love. He hadn't believed in soulmates, then. They’d met just a bit too soon but it all worked out anyway, they say clinking their shot glasses together. Huh, guess destiny wasn’t perfect after all...

Seokmin has his arm wrapped around Soonyoung as he asks, words slurring, about how he and Soonyoung met.

Wonwoo’s tipsy but not that stupid. Not yet anyway.

“Met at a party and -” Before he can finish about how they run in the same circles, Soonyoung and his flush cheeks interrupt.

“We were fuck buddies!” He says, giggling. He is _this_ close to throttling him. Seokmin punctuates that with how Soonyoung must be so lucky, Wonwoo was soooo hot. He was all over the table now and definitely about to pass out.

Jun? Jun says nothing. His lips are pursed together and if Wonwoo had a few more brain cells, he’d have something better to say.

He points his olive at Jun and says, “Olive you.”

Jun smiles although it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Jun glances at his phone, “It’s getting late and both Seokmin and I have the morning shift tomorrow. I’ll bring him home…” He shakes the man by his shoulders, barely managing to get him up and they leave.

Soonyoung must still have some sort of awareness left because he apologises but really, it's not his fault. Having fuckbuddies wasn’t uncommon either, Jun was just being a hard ass. It’d be fine tomorrow. He knocks back another drink and for some reason, it burns.

Wonwoo had thought nothing of it when Jun hadn’t texted him all day. But then the day after, there was no good morning text. So Wonwoo takes the initiative to start conversation; the replies take forever to come and are flat.

Was Jun mad? Why would he be mad about something that happened before he met him… Maybe he should explain? That it meant nothing. He tries to catch Jun at the cafe, it’s nearly impossible, Wonwoo only manages to talk to him once in two weeks.

Giving up on telling him in person, Wonwoo texts him. He only gets an “Ok.” At least, it was a speedy reply? 

Wonwoo has an idea of what’s wrong but how does he fix it? They’re just friends anyway, Why was Jun upset?

He leaves Jun be. Sometimes, people need space.

Being apart from Jun aches, his chest hurts so much at times. Wonwoo doesn’t even know if it's his own pain sometimes. He keeps himself busy with games, studies, actually hanging out with Minghao to get to know him better, doesn’t go to the cafe even if he wants to.

It’s two more weeks before he gets a text from Jun. 

_Junnie <3: 3:20pm  
Let’s meet in the park now? _

_I have something i wanna say_

It’s warm out. Some leaves were poking out of the mostly barren trees. The snow is slush now, leaving puddles everywhere. Jun’s sitting at the edge of the fountain. There’s still some water in them. He spots a few coins at the bottom as he takes a seat next to Jun. Their shoulders touch.

Jun is silent. Wonwoo holds his tongue. 

Not many are around, the last frost is better spent huddled together around fireplaces with warm cups. Soon, Wonwoo thinks, the park would be full of life again.

Jun takes off his gloves to reveal thorns poking out from the skin of his hands. His hands are scarred and eyes are shining.

“Jun-” 

“It wasn’t any of my business what you and Soonyoung do or did, because we are just friends. It still hurt and upset me, because you’re my soulmate and I realised that I only felt that way because you mean more than just a friend to me, I was jealous but I’ve been pushing you away, will you accept me because I’ve fallen for you and I don’t know what to do. I’ll probably still push you away sometimes cos I’m scared but will you accept me?” 

It’s all said way too fast and Jun’s accent is heavy. Ah. Jun’s expression falls as Wonwoo stays quiet.

“Yes, yes yes!” He’d been waiting for this for too long.

Wonwoo takes Jun’s hands into his, ignoring the pricks.

“You’re bleeding,” Jun hiccups between his tears.

“That’s alright.”

Jun’s body shakes as he whispers ‘Wonwoo’ over and over while Wonwoo holds his hands and whispers sweet words of comfort. They’re leaning into each other almost hugging and Wonwoo only notices because his hands don’t hurt anymore.

It must be magic Wonwoo thinks as the thorns retract, and instead flowers bloom where the thorns used to be, hiding the scars. It’s all too familiar, really. The small flowers of pink and white, that he now knows are Baby’s Breath bloom around his hands. The pattern begins to grow even further, swirling around his forearms, changing from the tiny flowers, to lavenders to deep red roses as it goes from his hands up his arms. There’s some leaves but no more thorns.

It’s almost identical to Wonwoo’s.

“See, you don’t have thorns anymore,” Wonwoo kisses Jun’s hands, “As long as we keep trying, we’ll be alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing Soonyoung's and Wonwoo's friendship, the casual frenemy but not really. They're best friends. I enjoyed that both couples were the atypical soulmate types, not love at first sight. Because it is a bit superficial. Yes, Wonwoo is superficial in this fic but he slowly transitions from seeing Jun as a romantic partner to a platonic partner, despite the feelings. If Jun hadn't said anything, he would have moved on. Jun totally thinks love at first sight is superficial which was why he insisted on being friends then lovers.
> 
> I was foreshadowing to the thorns a lot, and altho Wonwoo is observant, wearing gloves isn't uncommon. The ending may seem a bit rushed, but from Wonwoo's perspective, if Jun isn't there its not really worth noting so nothing important happens during those weeks, until he meets Jun again.
> 
> Jun took the two weeks to process and come to terms with his own feelings before acting on them, because if he had not it would have been rash and kinda like a teen drama. Because, this fic was from the perspective of Wonwoo, I couldn't develop Jun's other relationships as much as I wanted to. Originally, Joshua, Vernon and Minghao were meant to appear more, especially as Jun's support system and casual friends. They were the ones who were there during Jun's two weeks apart. Jun does ask his friends for help, just not a lot as he doesn't want to burden them even if said friends tell him its not a burden.
> 
> I hope the ending was to your expectations! Let's enjoy the comeback!! My fav song has to be My My!

**Author's Note:**

> please comment!! appreciate constructive feedback and also, love :)
> 
> tumblr: @ifistoptherain  
> i am most active on my instagram @whi_skye  
> this is my curious cat where you can send prompts https://curiouscat.qa/whi_skye
> 
> u can call me skye :)


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